Conventional connectors, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication 92-209479, are equipped with a contact-aligning device preventing male contacts arranged inside the connector housing from bending as shown in FIGS. 12-15.
As seen in FIGS. 12-15, the housing 12 of the female connector 10 has a number of male contacts 14. Tips 14a of these male contacts 14 pass via through-holes formed in a guide 16. Tips 16b of arms 16a of the guide 16 engage with lugs 12a made in the housing 12, thus preventing the guide 16 from being pulled out of the connector, and when the tips 16b are engaged with lugs 12b, the guide is secured temporarily. As shown in FIG. 15, at the initial stage of joining the female connector 10 with the male connector 20, the tips 16b of the guide 16 are pushed by the lug 20a formed on the male connector 20. When the male connector 20 is inserted further, the lug 20a snaps over the tip 16b. With a further advance of the male connector 20, the front end of the male connector 20 comes against the plate section 16c of the guide 16 and starts to push it inside. As a result, the tip 16b disengages from the lug 12b and the guide 16 moves toward the back ends of the male contacts 14. This accomplishes the joining of the female connector 10 and the male connector 20. In addition, the female connector 10 is equipped with a locking device 18 which fits on the housing 12 and locks the male contacts 14 in place.
From the above description, it follows that male contacts 14 are prevented from being bent due to the fact that their tips are inserted in the through-holes of the guide 16. When the female connector 10 and the male connector 20 are joined together, the guide 16 is pushed by the male connector 20 and it is moved to the back ends of the male contacts 14, but if the male connector is not inserted, the guide 16 is prevented from becoming loose by the engagement of the tips 16b with the lugs 12a in the housing 12. The engagement of the tips 16b with the lugs 12b provides for temporarily preventing the guide 16 from being moved back as a result of careless handling during transportation.
However, there is a danger that the guide can be moved to the back ends of the male contacts as a result of an accidental contact with a tool, another small connector or a bunch of wires in the harness assembly shop, and the device will not be able to perform its function of protecting male contacts from being bent. Another problem is that the guide is located in the cavity of the female connector, and when it is pushed to the back ends of the male contacts, it is very difficult to pull it back to its original position.
It is therefore the purpose of the present invention to prevent deformation of male contacts by offering a connector equipped with a contact-aligning device which is generally fail-safe with regard to undesirable movements of the contact-aligning device resulting from careless handling.